Portable misting fans have become quite popular over the last several years. These devices generally tend to be formed by an upper body portion which includes a fan device which is motorized, and usually powered by one or more batteries contained in a battery compartment, and electrically connected to a motor which operates the fan. The upper body portion is further provided with a pump assembly which terminates in a misting nozzle, wherein the mist is directed into the air stream created by the fan. The lower body portion generally accommodates a fluid reservoir which is usually filled with water or a mixture of ice and water, and also includes a fill port to permit the user to easily fill the fluid reservoir with water. The upper and lower body portions are affixed together incident to the assembly thereof, and this is usually accomplished by having the lower body portion in the configuration of a bottle with a screw-threaded neck, and the upper body portion includes a cap which has threads, and screw-threads onto the bottle. In this manner, the upper and lower body portions of the fan device are inner-connected. In the original variation of the device, the method of filling the fluid reservoir was to unscrew the upper body portion from the lower body portion, and simply fill the bottle with fluid. The bottle would then be screwed back onto the upper body portion to form the entire fan device. The bottle was designed to have a diametric dimension rendering the same to be held by the hand of the user in relatively easy fashion. However, one of the drawbacks of that variation of a misting fan device was that the neck of the bottle was usually a typical bottle neck, and therefore not sized sufficiently large to allow the operator or user to insert ice cubes therein. Therefore, in order to have cooled fluid, it was necessary to obtain the water from a cooled source.
That objection has been overcome by providing a separate fill port in the lower body portion of the device, the fill port having a diametric dimension sufficiently large enough so that ice cubes may be inserted into the fluid reservoir. The fill port could either be located on the side wall of the device, in which case, the fill port would be covered by a fill cap which would be appropriately gasketed so that a fluid tight seal is achieved. Alternatively, the fill port can be on the very bottom of the device, such that fill cap which actually forms the bottom of the device and is positioned over the bottom opening of the device in fluid tight arrangement.
However, whatever construction is employed, generally, in order to manufacture a portable misting fan device, it is necessary to join together the upper body portion to the lower body portion through some means of engagement. As was indicated above, while this has generally been done with a threaded neck with a screw cap, it has been found that such an arrangement represents an inherent weakness in the device. It is well known that these devices are generally used in the out of doors, or in connection with sports activities. Hence, the portable fan devices are prone to being dropped or otherwise handled in a rough manner and where the device incorporates a weakness, the device is prone to breakage. For example, the typical portable misting fan device of the type which is formed by means of a bottle having a neck with threads and accommodates the upper body portion thereon by screw-threading a cap thereon, the joint between the upper and lower body portions is rather weak and very prone to breakage when dropped. Once the device is dropped and breakage occurs, the device is no longer useful and must be discarded.
Another problem arises from the fact that current devices may also include a shroud which surrounds the impeller blades of the fan. The shroud functions to protect the fan blades from damage, and also protects the user from the movement of the fan blades. In order to create a device that has a shroud surrounding the impeller blades, the devices are generally made with two pieces, including front portion of the shroud, and a rear portion of the shroud, the front and rear then being joined together. It is therefore apparent that where the device includes a shroud, there is even a further joint which would be prone to breakage upon dropping the device.
Various attempts have been made in finding different methods for assembling the upper and lower body portions together so that the joint between the two portions is more break resistant and secure. It is apparent that the more break resistant the joint, the longer life the product has for the user thereof.
Prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,132 shows various means of creating a joint between the upper and lower body portions. Various of the embodiments disclosed in the aforementioned patent show the use of adhesives to secure the head unit or the upper body portion to the lower body portion or the chamber, as illustrated in FIG. 9A of the drawings. A further modification describes the use of ultrasonic welds which are used to secure the upper head unit or upper body portion to the bottle portion or fluid reservoir. The patent further illustrates a method of heat staking the joint which would bond the neck of the bottle to the collar of the upper body portion. Further modifications of devices illustrated in the aforementioned patent show the application of two half units which are used to surround the neck of the bottle, after which the same are adhesively bonded and screwed together. These variations particularly relate to a misting fan device which is formed of two half sections which are jointed together in order to complete the assembly.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved misting fan device which is assembled in a manner which renders the joint between the upper and lower body portions to be more break resistant and therefore more resistant to damage when dropped. It has been determined that by changing the configuration of the neck portion, and the configuration of the collar of the upper body portion which attaches to the neck portion, a more secure joint is achieved.